Wife & son volunteered for body marking so they were up at 3:15... so I got up then too. Ate a plain bagel with peanut butter & honey about 4am, then snacked on a stinger waffel, Gatorade G2 & water while John (Fattyfatfat) & I walked over to the swim start from tranistion.

Event warmup:

tread water for about 10 minutes

Swim

1h 39m 6s

3862 meters

02m 34s / 100 meters

Comments:

goggles kept fogging up and I couldn't see for crap. Kept having to stop and clear them. Additionally, it was a crowded swim for the first 500+ meters (way mor crowded then IMFL). It started to clear, found some open water until the start of the canal, then it got crowded again.

I could maybe maybe move with a little more urgency, but after that swim I was a little defeated and just wanted to regroup.

Bike

6h 24m 37s

112 miles

17.47 mile/hr

Comments:

Again, not what I expected from myself. I had ridden this course before and had much better results. Not sure what I was doing out there... I had sections that I felt great and others that were just demoralizing. I was just not on my game today.

High spot was my bike nutrition...it was spot on. stinger waffels every 30-40 minutes with water and a little bit of Gatorade. Felt so much better coming into T2 then I did at IMFL and I felt like I worked harder on this bike leg then IMFL.

What would you do differently?:

Maybe push a little more???? Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug. Today I was the bug! I averaged 19.92 on the majority of this course just a few weeks prior to the race and felt awesome off the bike for a transition run. Frustrated and disappointed, but its Ironman and so many things can change over the course of the day...

Transition 2

08m 55s

Comments:

Again, I was a little defeated after the bike split...really thought I would be in under 6hrs... I tried to regroup again for the run, and make sure I got everything on and comfortable before I left the tent.

Garmin fired right up and was linked as I left the tent, that was a plus.

What would you do differently?:

nothing really... If I felt better about the race's progress, I may move faster.

Run

5h 51m 10s

26.2 miles

13m 24s min/mile

Comments:

I felt really good starting the run... I knew not to start out too fast, and my pace was right at 10 minutes per mile. I was feeling very hot by mile 3 and started pouring ice water and ice spoonges over my head. This was the beginning of the end for my running... my socks got drenched and by mile 8 I started to feel the big ass blisters on the balls of my feet behind my big toes (especially my left foot). I jog/walked lap two and tried to do the same for lap three. By mile 22 I could barely walk on my left foot, let alone jog on it, so I resorted to walking as quickly as I could for the last bit... I turned onto market street and found the strength to run to the finish with a big ass smile on my face! IT WAS OVER! Not nearly what I had expected, nor imagined...but it is what it is!

What would you do differently?:

My legs & my cardio were there for the run... my feet were not. I knew I would struggle in the heat, I always have as a runner. I could have changed socks on all three laps I guess to try and cut down on the blisters...who knows.

Post race

Warm down:

Hung out with the loudest cheering section on the course! A bunch of cops and teachers cheering for me the whole damn way! They were awesome!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was mentally defeated after the swim and it just kinda snow balled from there... the day just kinda went from bad to worst performance wise. I guess I could have pushed harder through out the swim and bike, not sure. Maybe it just wasn't my day... Who knows. I will climb back on this horse and keep moving forward, I know that for certain.

Event comments:

I got through it, there is room for improvement and I will return to the Ironman distance. I am not in a hurry to come back to IMTX, but that too will fade with time and I will find my way back...maybe after another trip to IMFL or a visit to IMAZ or IMCdA.